Owners find townhouse has no compliance certificate
A Wellington couple planning to sell their 1990s townhouse were shocked to discover it has never had a Code Compliance Certificate.
The couple and their immediate neighbour have joined forces to sell their two townhouses on The Terrace in as is, where is condition.
Neither townhouse, completed during 1993, has a Code Compliance Certificate, although these were required from January 1993 following changes to the Building Act after the leaky homes fiasco.
Listing agent Amy Allen of Lowe & Co said the couple owning one of the townhouses didn’t have any prior knowledge about the lack of compliance before they decided to sell. ‘‘It is very unfortunate, and it was a huge disappointment for them.’’
Allen said a significant amount of work is required to bring both houses up to standard. ‘‘The vendors have been advised that someone with the knowhow may be able to do a remedial job rather than a rebuild, which is where the real profit will lie. They are just not in a position to do this themselves.’’
The agent said a building report is available to ‘‘serious buyers’’, which shows there is ‘‘insufficient ground clearance to the subfloor framing timbers causing decayed structural framing, bearers and floor joists’’.
Although the two townhouses are owned by separate families and have separate titles (and were last sold in 1993 and 1994), potential purchasers will need to buy both townhouses together. Allen said it is not possible to work on one without the other also being developed or restored at the same time.
It is believed all the other townhouses at 259 The Terrace, which were built a year earlier, were permitted and signed off by the Wellington City Council.
A council spokesperson said while it is not an offence to not have a Code Compliance Certificate, it may impact on the insurance and sale of a property.
Tim Grafton, of the Insurance Council of New Zealand, said it was up to an individual insurer to decide whether they would insure a property that contained work that had not been issued with a Code Compliance Certificate.
‘‘As part of taking out insurance, property owners have a duty to disclose any unconsented or uncertified repairs, modifications or building structures that are part of the property they’re insuring. If they do not, they may find that part of their policy is not valid, or their entire policy may be voided from inception.
‘‘If repairs or building work are conducted once insurance has been obtained, the property owner is required to obtain all the necessary consents and certifications for such.’’
The two townhouses each have a 2015 RV of $410,000.